Get Out Inspires a New #Challenge On The Viral List

Box office hit Get Out inspires a new internet challenge, HBO gets a large audience to watch ice melt, Zara gets called out for a body positive ad, and more stories that went viral this week…

Get Out Inspires the Latest Internet #Challenge

Get Out, the satirical horror film currently dominating at box offices (with an astounding score of 99% on Rotten Tomatoes), has inspired a new #Challenge. Originating as a Snapchat video, the #GetOutChallenge recreates the movie’s chilling scene where one character is running at full speed towards another character before making a sharp turn to avoid impact. Within a matter of days, the original video garnered 3.6 million views, making the challenge as viral as the film and generating comical and “surprisingly spot-on” recreations on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. Even NBA celebrity Steph Curry has gotten in on the trend, with a video that has been viewed over 2.5 million times.

Millions of GOT Fans Watched Ice Melt

With the promise of revealing the premiere date of Game of Thrones’ seventh season, HBO made a live stream of ice melting go viral. This week, the network started a Facebook Live stream of a massive block of ice being hit with flame throwers, asking viewers to comment "fire" and "dacarys" to make the ice melt faster and reveal the hidden date inside. The process took a while to say the least, but still drew 1.3 million viewers within an hour of streaming. A few snags and comments from impatient, angry fans later, the network finally released the announcement along with an official teaser which garnered over 28 million views.

Zara’s Body Positive Campaign Backfires

A tweet expressing frustration towards Zara’s choice of models in a body positive ad has gone viral with almost 30,000 likes and over 15,000 retweets.…

Want to talk to us about the article or dive into a custom study?

The Newsfeed

“It[‘s] only about the music for me, nothing else dictates what I listen to, I either like it or I don't.”—Male, 28, WA

A new app is getting teens’ attention as it rises through the ranks of the new social apps to know, even surpassing Houseparty’s popularity—but the catch is it’s “piggyback[ing]” on Snapchat. Polly allows users to create anonymous surveys that they can send on Snapchat (there's that anonymity allure again), meaning many users may not have actually downloaded the Polly app, so they “could slip away if friends stop posting questions.” For now though, the app amassed 20 million users and 100 million answers last month, proving it’s one to keep an eye on. (TechCrunch)

Designers are taking to social media to “shame” the retailers ripping off their work. When Zoila Darton spotted a Forever 21 shirt eerily similar to the one she helped create to benefit Planned Parenthood, she posted a tweet to let the brand know their copycat didn’t go unnoticed—and quickly gained attention from fashion editors and others. This isn’t the first time pieces have been copied by Forever 21, but designers have a hard time taking legal recourse against the powerful company. Instead, social media posts are often their best bet. (NYTimes)

BeautyCon is continuing to take “Sephora and Coachella and smash it into one thing” to appeal to young consumers. At the latest L.A. event, 20,000 beauty fans came to meet their influencer idols and try out the latest makeup trends, surrounded by empowering slogans and messages—true to the brand’s idea that “beauty can be something beyond a concealer culture.” Of course, brands were there “to win over the new generation”—ChapStick Duo offered cotton candy while Rimmel London’s “slayground” gave attendees a chance to set down their makeup and enjoy a jungle gym and swing set.
(The New Yorker)

It turns out saving money might not be cord cutters’ top reason for switching to streaming. Instead, a recent Magid Associates survey found that “the attractions” of SVOD programming (aka their content) is their top reason for making the move, followed by the overall decline of TV-viewing among 18-24-year-olds. Cable companies are trying to reel The Post-TV Gen back in by offering lower-cost cable bundles (so-called “skinny bundles”), but stepping up their shows might be a better first step to reversing the “accelerating” trend of cutting the cord. (TheStreet)

Pokémon is reaching out to a new generation of trainers with its first app for preschool-aged kids. Pokémon Playhouse follows in the wake of the massively successful augmented reality app, Pokémon Go (which was so popular that we put together an entire infographic on it) but won’t be AR-based. Instead, Playhouse will tap into the collectibles trend by featuring favorite characters like Pikachu for kids to collect by completing activities. There will also be puzzles and more in the app’s “interactive park.” (Kidscreen)

“I'm literally listening to music any time it is socially acceptable.”—Female, 28, MN